* The Ukrainian parliament, the Supreme Rada, voted in favor of dismissing Prime Minister Yuriy Yekhanurov's government

* Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko intends to appeal in the Constitutional Court against the government's dismissal, the president's Web site said

* Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko said she approved of the decision to dismiss the government

* The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement urging Iran to keep to its moratorium on nuclear research and to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency

* Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia was concerned by Iran's intention to resume uranium enrichment activities

* Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, for Nursultan Nazarbayev's presidential inauguration, scheduled for January 11

* Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev said Kazakhstan and China intended to increase bilateral trade by $4 billion in 2006

* Economic Development and Trade Minister German Gref said annual inflation in Russia for 2005 stood at 10.9%

* The Energy and Industry Ministry said Russia had increased oil production by 2.8% to 40.816 million metric tons and natural gas production by 13.7% to 59.107 billion cubic meters, in December 2005, year-on-year

* The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) said a member of an international terrorist group had been apprehended in the Russian republic of Daghestan